There Really Is A Secret Alliance Between Ron Paul And Mitt Romney

For the past few weeks, reports have been circulating about a
"secret alliance" between Ron Paul and Mitt Romney, fueling speculation that, if the
price was right, the iconoclastic Congressman might be ready to
cut a deal and throw his support behind the eventual
nominee.

"I think the narrative is amusing to no end — I would say 99.9
percent of it is media speculation," the campaign's official
blogger Jack Hunter told Business Insider. "Ron Paul's principles
will not be compromised. I'm shocked that anyone would think
that."

“Ron Paul is incorruptible,” senior campaign advisor Doug Wead
added. “In 22 years, there have been no women, no money, nothing
— so I can't believe he would make a deal now."

Senior Paul advisors also suggested that Paul's perceived
lack of attacks on Romney could have more to do with his
animosity toward Santorum and Gingrich than with any "friendship"
with the frontrunner. Santorum endorsed Rand Paul's primary
opponent Trey Grayson in the 2010 Kentucky Senate race, and
Gingrich once campaigned for an opponent of the elder Paul when
both men were serving in the House.

But sources close to the campaign told Business Insider that, behind the scenes,
there have been ongoing discussions between the two campaigns
that appear to include, or at least be the precursor to, an
eventual deal.

“The courtship has been underway for a long time," a source who
declined to be named, talking about internal campaign affairs
told Business Insider. "They are smart enough to know that he
[Paul] can't win the nomination or get a Cabinet position … but
Ron Paul has to go somewhere."

At stake, is Paul's legacy and the future of his
movement. After two decades in the House and three
presidential campaigns, the libertarian septuagenarian is nearing
the end of his political career. And while his performance in the
2012 primaries far exceeded even the campaign's expectations,
there is a growing acceptance among some campaign advisors they
must come to some kind of agreement with Romney and the party's
Establishment or risk forfeiting the gains made since 2008.

“You don’t have to be a math genius to know that it is going to
be very hard for us to get to Tampa with 1,144 delegates,” Benton
said. But, he added, "“short of Dr. Paul being the nominee, there
would be a substantial price for us to throw our support behind
someone else."

The problem with any potential deal, of course, is that
Paul's support is predicated on the candidate's unwillingness to
compromise his principles, many of which are at odds with
mainstream Republican positions.Any evidence
that Paul had abdicated those ideals for political expediency
would destroy both his movement and the Paul brand.

“Our supporters wouldn’t let us sell out, so even if we wanted to
sell out it would be fruitless," Benton said. "If it turns out we
can’t make Ron the nominee, we would have to communicate with our
people to see what would be acceptable to them."

Media reports have speculated that a possible deal might include
a prime speaking slot at the Republican National Convention or
influence over the party's platform discussions — neither of
which is likely to be enough for Paul's supporters.

“To think that is to think Dr. Paul is cheap,” Benton said. "He
wants to save America — a speaking slot at a convention isn’t
that important.”

The other option that has been floated is a possible Cabinet
position for Paul's son Rand. But Rand Paul does not engender the same devotion
among the Movement, and Paul diehards are more likely to see his
acceptance of a role in Romney's administration as a betrayal
than as a victory.

“There’s no way, because he would be working under a
neo-con,” Dale Decker, a prominent grassroots organizer for Paul
in Wisconsin, told BI. “Ron Paul Nation will not vote for a Mitt
Romney-Rand Paul ticket – it’s Ron Paul or None At All.”

Kristan Harris, another Paul devotee from Wisconsin who is
applying to be an RNC delegate, was more circumspect:

"It would never happen because you'd kill the movement,” Harris
said. “The only scenario where I can imagine Ron Paul accepting
Rand as vice president, is if they made him head of the
Treasury.”

In the end, any deal between Romney and Paul will likely
be implicit and reflect Paul's broader goal to shape the
Republican Party from the inside.

Paul is now poised to take advantage of the fractured Republican
party, and leverage his 2012 success into a broader acceptance of
his movement by the party. Sources familiar with the Paul
campaign have even suggested that a quiet promise to support (and
fund) Paul's Campaign For Liberty PAC would go a long way in
discussions about a deal.

The agreement would actually be a natural progression of Paul's
relationship with the Republican Establishment. Since his 2008
presidential campaign, the Paul camp made a conscious decision to
diminish the perception that the candidate was about fringe
issues, shifting control of the movement out of the hands of
local organizers and volunteers and professionalizing the
campaign with the addition of veteran GOP operatives whose first
loyalty is to the party, rather than to Paul.

But as Paul's team contemplates its next move in the glare of the
national spotlight, it must strike a delicate balance between its
new ideological elasticity and loyalty to the grassroots
activists who have propelled the Ron Paul Revolution.